Mults ‘failing shoppers on salt in bacon’

Supermarkets are letting consumers down by not doing enough to reduce salt in bacon.

That was the warning from health campaigners today, after claiming only two of the major multiples were on track to meet the 2012 salt reduction target for bacon by the end of the year.

Consensus Action on Salt & Health said only Tesco and Marks & Spencer were currently in line to meet the 2012 bacon target, which sets a maximum of 2.88g of salt per 100g bacon.

The group also warned there were significant variations in how much salt was in different bacon products sold by the same supermarket, making it confusing for consumers to make informed choices.

“Some products contain more than half the daily recommendation of salt in just two rashers of bacon – more than double the concentration of seawater per 100g,” Cash said. This meant bacon was the second highest biggest contributor of salt to the UK diet after bread, the group added.

In response, Morrisons said it was committed to reducing levels of salt in its own-label products where possible.

“As part of this process, we will be re-launching our bacon early next year to give customers the same great taste but with lower levels of salt,” a spokesman added.

Sainsbury’s said: “We sell a wide variety of bacon, including some with reduced salt, to give our customers a choice. We were the first retailer to introduce front of pack multiple traffic light labelling to enable our customers to make informed choices about what to buy and this easy-to-read labelling is on all our bacon.

“We are working hard with our suppliers to reduce the amount of salt in our bacon and have made salt reduction a key part of our binding 20 By 20 sustainability plan.”

Cash also called on the government to push harder for clearer and more consistent on-pack labelling so as to make it easier for consumers to understand the salt content of different bacon products.

“If the Department of Health intends to tell people to choose lower-salt foods, they must ensure there is a single uniform labelling system across all manufacturers. Otherwise, it is completely unrealistic that people should be expected to make a healthy choice.”

A spokeswoman for The Co-operative Group said the mutual was committed to help consumers make healthier choices. “We are working with our suppliers to reduce salt in our range, and are currently investigating suitable solutions that will enable us to achieve this across our bacon range. Currently over 80% of own-brand products meet the 2012 salt targets set in the Public Health Responsibility Deal.”

She also pointed out the smoked rindless back bacon cited by Cash as an example of a high-salt bacon product had recently been reformulated to contain less salt.

Waitrose, meanwhile, commented: “We’ve carried out work to ensure that all of our own-label bacon that falls under the Government’s Public Health Responsibility Deal salt reduction pledge meets the 2012 target. This new, lower-salt-content bacon will be available in our shops shortly.”